Key takeaways
- What are ASE certifications? Single tests, not one long exam. You pass one of them, you file the work experience ASE asks for, and that area is certified.
- ASE's FAQ says "over 50 tests". Its series pages, as they read on November 2, 2026, hold 54 certification tests in eleven series.
- Nine of them are the A Series, A1 through A9, for cars and light trucks. Those are the nine this site has practice for.
- Six series carry a Master title: A, B, H, MIL, S, T. Each leaves a test out of the requirement, and which test that is changes by series.
- Other trades own the rest of it. School buses, transit buses, parts counters, collision shops, Class 4 to 8 trucks.
What are ASE certifications?
ASE certifications are credentials a technician earns one test at a time. There is a test to pass, and there is hands-on work to document for it. Do both and that area is certified, and only that area.
Those initials stand for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, established "by the automotive industry in 1972 as a non-profit organization."
Tests are sorted by vehicle and by job. A for cars and light trucks, T for medium and heavy trucks, B for collision repair, on down the list. On its about page, ASE puts its role as serving the transportation industry "as an independent third party that upholds and promotes high standards of service and repair through the assessment, certification, and credentialing of current and future industry professionals."
But one test does ask for another first, and it sits in the L Series, further down this page.
Experience and fees are what turn a passed test into a certificate, and both get their own guide in how to get ASE certified.
How many ASE certifications are there?
More than fifty. That is as precise as ASE's own figure gets, and the figure lives on its FAQ page: "There are over 50 tests, each designed to discern the automotive service technician's knowledge of job-related skills."
Its certification test series page lists them one series at a time. Fifteen entries when that page was read on November 2, 2026, opening at "A Series: A1 - A9" and closing on the T Series entry for Class 4 to 8 trucks. Add up the test codes inside those entries and the total is 54, under eleven series prefixes: A, B, C, F, G, H, L, MIL, P, S and T.
That total holds for today's list and nothing more.
One number nobody can hand you is the passing score. ASE does not publish it for any test in any series. About seven right answers in ten counts as a pass on the practice tests here. That is our line, not ASE's.
What are all the ASE certification series, and what do they cover?
Eleven of them, and ASE gives each one its own statement of purpose. The ASE certifications list below is its certification test series page as that page read on November 2, 2026.
| Series | Tests | What it covers | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Series | A1 to A9 (9) | Cars, SUVs and light trucks up to Class 3 | Automobile and light truck technicians |
| B Series | B2 to B5 (4) | Collision damage repair and paint finish | Collision repair technicians and refinishers |
| B Series | B6 (1) | Damage analysis and estimating | Estimators |
| C Series | C1 (1) | Communications, customer relations, sales skills, shop operations | Automobile service consultants |
| F Series | F1 (1) | Compressed natural gas vehicles | Alternate fuels technicians |
| G Series | G1 (1) | Common maintenance and light repair tasks | Maintenance and light repair technicians |
| H Series | H1 to H8 (8) | Transit bus systems | Transit bus technicians |
| L Series | L1 to L4 (4) | Advanced driveability, diesel diagnosis, hybrid and electric, ADAS | Diagnostic specialists (L1 requires a passed A8) |
| MIL Series | MIL1 to MIL8 (8) | Military tactical wheeled vehicles | Military maintainers and maintenance managers |
| P Series | P1 to P2 (2) | Automobile and truck parts work | Parts specialists |
| S Series | S1 to S7 (7) | Type A, B, C and D school buses | School bus technicians |
| T Series | T1 to T8 (8) | Class 4 through Class 8 trucks and tractors | Medium and heavy truck technicians |
Most of them run to one template. The A Series, for instance, exists, in ASE's own words, "To identify and recognize those Automobile and Light Truck (up to Class 3) Technicians who can demonstrate knowledge of the skills necessary to diagnose, service, and repair cars, SUVs, and light duty trucks."
Three rows in that table come with conditions attached. L1 wants a pass first. "To register for the regular L1 certification test, you must have passed the Automobile Engine Performance (A8) test," says ASE's L1 page, which puts L1 itself at 50 scored questions in two and a half hours. Parts specialists owe experience of another kind, "specifically related to parts counter work, not hands-on automotive repair." And the military tests are open despite the name, since ASE says "the tests in this series are open to any technician who wishes to take them."
Which ASE tests make up the A Series, and where do you practice for them?
The A Series holds nine tests: A1 Engine Repair, A2 Automatic Transmission/Transaxle, A3 Manual Drive Train and Axles, A4 Suspension and Steering, A5 Brakes, A6 Electrical/Electronic Systems, A7 Heating and Air Conditioning, A8 Engine Performance and A9 Light Vehicle Diesel Engines.
Sizes vary. On ASE's A Series page the short ones are A3 and A4, 40 scored questions in 60 minutes. A6 stretches to 50 questions in 90, and the rest land between.
Then there are the questions that carry no score at all. The same page warns that "ASE Certification tests include 10 additional research questions that are not counted for score." You are not told which ones they are, so answer every question you see.
All nine have practice tests here, set to the scored length and the time ASE publishes for each one. The ASE Practice Test app holds the same nine by test and by topic, with every answer explained and a study plan that runs to your test date in English or Spanish.
What is ASE Master Technician status, and which series have one?
Six series publish one. Not one of the six means "pass everything in the series", and ASE's FAQ states the principle plainly:
"Master Technician status is earned when you achieve certification in all required testing areas for that series."
Required, not all. Which test gets left out changes by series.
| Master title | Tests required | Left out |
|---|---|---|
| ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technician | A1 to A8 | A9 |
| ASE Certified Master Collision Repair Technician | B2 to B5 | B6 |
| ASE-Certified Master Transit Bus Technician | H1 or H2, plus H3 to H8 | Either H1 or H2 |
| ASE Certified Master Military Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Technician | MIL2 to MIL8 | MIL1 |
| ASE-Certified Master School Bus Technician | S1 to S6 | S7 |
| ASE Certified Master Medium-Heavy Truck Technician | T2 to T8 | T1 |
In ASE's own words, on two of those rows: "NOTE: A9 is NOT a requirement for Master Automobile Technician Status," and, for trucks, "NOTE: T1 is not required for Master Medium-Heavy Truck Technician Status." C1, F1 and G1 carry no Master status at all, because a one-test series leaves nothing to finish. The Master Automobile Technician route gets the full treatment in our guide on getting ASE certified.
What does ASE run outside the certification test series?
Other programs sit beside the certification series. Three of them follow.
xEV Safety Certifications come first, aimed by ASE at technicians "who can demonstrate knowledge of the skills necessary to diagnose, service, and repair electrified propulsion vehicles." There are two. The "xEV Electrical Safety Awareness Certification (Level 1)" runs 20 questions, and the "xEV Technician Electrical Safety Certification (Level 2)" runs 30.
Next, the 609 program. ASE calls it "The EPA-Approved Section 609 program that's required if you service mobile A/C systems and need to buy automotive refrigerant." Federal rule, not an ASE one. "Any person who repairs or services a motor vehicle air conditioning system for consideration (payment or bartering) must be properly trained and certified," says the EPA, under section 609 of the Clean Air Act.
Entry-Level Certification is the student certification, and the ASE Education Foundation runs it. Schools administer the tests. Its tests "are designed to indicate a satisfactory level of practical knowledge-based readiness for the workforce," the Foundation writes, across the Automobile, Collision Repair/Refinish and Medium/Heavy Truck segments. Eight of the automobile entry-level tests and six months of full-time work turn into the professional G1 certification.
Is a G1 certification the same thing as the A Series?
No. G1 Auto Maintenance and Light Repair is a series of one. ASE's G1 page puts it at 55 scored questions in 90 minutes, over the maintenance and light repair work that fills most bays. It is a professional certification, earned one test at a time like the rest. But it does nothing for Master Automobile Technician status, which needs A1 through A8.
Where you sit the test splits them again. ASE's remote testing policy says the ProProctor option is "Available for recertification tests only: Excluding Auto Maintenance & Light Repair (G1)", so an A Series recertification can happen in a room at home while a G1 recertification cannot.
For every one of these tests ASE publishes a length and a clock, and that much you can rehearse before paying for anything. Pick the one that matches the work in your bay this week and run it full length on the practice tests.